{
  "abstract": "Introduction Raynaud’s phenomenon is a vasospastic disorder triggered by cold temperatures, suggesting that public interest and symptom awareness may fluctuate with seasonal changes. This study aims to quantify the relationship between ambient temperature and search query volumes for Raynaud’s-related symptoms, with a particular focus on trends within South Korea.Material and Methods We analyzed temperature and internet search data from January 2016 to July 2025. South Korean average temperature data was obtained from the Korea Meteorological Administration. For the analysis of trends within Korea, search volume data for the keyword ‘soo-jok-neng-joong’ was collected from the country’s major portals: Naver, Google, and Daum. This term was chosen because the Korean public typically searches for symptoms using this colloquial expression for ‘cold hands and feet’ rather than the clinical term ‘Raynaud’s’. For the international comparison, we used the term ‘Raynaud’s’ (and its language equivalents) across South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore to maintain consistency. This was done to specifically compare the relative seasonal fluctuations in search interest between countries, even if the absolute search frequency for ‘Raynaud’s’ is lower than ‘soo-jok-neng-joong’ in Korea. Search data was normalized to a relative scale where the peak volume over the period was set to 100.Results A strong, consistent inverse correlation was observed between the average monthly temperature and search volumes for ‘soo-jok-neng-joong’ across all three South Korean search engines. Public interest consistently peaked during the coldest months of the year, typically from November to January, and reached its lowest point during the warmest summer months of June through August. This distinct seasonality was also prominent in Japan. In contrast, tropical countries without significant temperature drops, such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, did not exhibit this clear winter-centric search pattern. While Naver and Daum showed a slight long-term decrease in search volume for this term, Google’s trend showed a gradual increase over the same period.Conclusions The public’s interest in symptoms related to Raynaud’s phenomenon in South Korea is highly seasonal and strongly linked to drops in ambient temperature. This pattern is characteristic of temperate climates with distinct cold seasons, as evidenced by the comparison with Japan and several tropical nations. These findings highlight the utility of search trend data as a digital epidemiological tool for monitoring public awareness and the perceived prevalence of temperature-sensitive health conditions.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, Inje University College, Seoul, South Korea"
      ],
      "name": "Bon San Koo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Seoul, South Korea"
      ],
      "name": "Bora Nam"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Seoul, South Korea"
      ],
      "name": "Jae-Bum Jun"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P.198 Seasonal variation in public interest in raynaud’s phenomenon: a search trend analysis in South Korea and a cross-national comparison",
  "uid": "8429c15b-22f5-5120-8ee0-146f95bb34fd"
}